2018 #17 Colour - A Box of Eggs: An Actual Box of Eggs! with ECF/HP {by Alison Bomber}

 2018 Topic 17: A Box of Eggs (Colour Topic)

This is the perfect end to a great topic! Trick eggs!! With Halloween coming...I'm sure you could have some fun with this idea!  But how pretty do they look! Alison would no doubt do a great job marketing egg packaging ! ~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Alison with you today from Words and Pictures with a very literal but quirky take on the theme.  As soon as I read the topic title, the only thing my brain would consider was an actual box of eggs... and I've found it's better to yield to my imagination when it get holds of something, rather than to try and fight it.  So here are two boxes of eggs for you, created with some of Courtney's gorgeous new Fresco Finish Chalk Paint colours.  They've made their way straight into my top 20 Fresco colours, no question!

Originally, I'd considered using real eggs (blowing out the centres and decorating the eggshells), but then I decided they'd be too fragile, so I sourced some plastic eggs to play with and gave them a couple of coats of gesso to start with.  (By the way, somebody ought to tell the egg-makers that almost nobody wants to buy eggs in packets of five - whose idea was that?!)

I then had a lovely time layering up the palest of Courtney's new colours, using a natural sponge to apply them.

Some are pure Seaglass (oh happy day, what a glorious colour!), some are pure Eggshell (but of course)...

... but most have at least two if not three colours sponged delicately over them to create the natural colour variation you find in eggs.

Surf's Up worked beautifully to add a touch of "duck egg blue" to both the Seaglass and the Eggshell versions, and Koala was perfect for adding a slightly darker shadowing to some of the eggs.

I then used an old toothbrush to flick some Taupe onto the eggs for that mottled, speckled look.

I love how this brings them zinging to life.  As you know, I love my spatter, and I'll admit I got a little carried away here!  You should have seen the craft mat by the time I'd finished.  I had thought of adding some extra texture using stamps at this point, but I decided I preferred my eggs au naturel.

However, eggs need eggboxes, right? So the crackled stamp from Eclectica³ Courtney Franich 03 which I'd thought of using on the eggs (cracks on an egg... an irresistible connection) made its way onto the eggboxes instead.

The half-dozen box is just a regular eggbox, and the little four-way one was from some chocolate eggs last Easter.  I hung onto it because... well, you know why... and here it is.  (I must be the only person ever to have been okay with the plastic eggs arriving in bags of five - it's simply the wrong number for eggs!)

I created the labels with stamps from the new Hot Picks 1801 set.

I used the original labels as templates to cut my card and sponged on some more of the Eggshell and Seaglass paints.  I also used the Eggshell to liven up the cardboard boxes themselves.

The cockerel was perfect for a box of eggs, so he was a simple choice.  I added some extra text around him and the word stickers tell you all you need to know about this particular creative process.

For the other label, I indulged in a little bit of alteration.  The poppy seed head...

... became an egg, with the help of a little paint and penwork.  Okay, it's not perfect, but then imperfection is to be embraced, no?

And I love the added imperfection of Courtney's great cracks and crannies stamp all over the eggboxes.

I used Hickory Smoke Archival, so they're fairly subtle, but they add just the right extra interest to the background, I think.

So there you have it... some of Courtney's new Box of Eggs colours used to create an actual box (or two) of eggs.  I know we're a long way from Easter, and at first I was a little concerned at how my mind was fixated on these eggs.  But as I was playing, I found that my mind knew exactly what it was doing.

There are all sorts of big plans being put into action just now for me, new ventures and possibilities opening up... some of them still very much in the shell, but some of them with definite signs of hatching.  So sometimes you do just have to "trust your crazy ideas", and you find that maybe they're not so crazy after all.

Having said that, how perfect will these colours be for home decor projects come the spring and Eastertide?  And in the meantime, they're a fabulous addition to the Fresco Finish Chalk Paint range for all sorts of neutral, pastel, gentle projects.  You'll definitely be seeing them in action round my way a lot.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Alison x

Blog: Words and Pictures

Pinterest: butterfly crafter

 

To join our challenge and win a PaperArtsy £50 gift voucher:

Simply make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 17: A Box of Eggs (colour topic) will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, October 14th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

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